Buddha and Kami
by S'revan
Summary: In a world where humans feel inferior in general to youkai, there exist those who know for certain that humans are above all but gods in the realms of desire. What happens when one of these meets a youkai who knows just as certainly that he is above all?
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha (InuYasha, Inu-Yasha, or any other spelling). Nor do I own the concept of Buddhism that I portray here. Miru, however, is mine, as is the idea.  
  
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Buddha and Kami  
  
Prologue - a Meeting  
  
~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~  
  
It was nearly dark when they found her.  
  
They hadn't even been sure it was her at first, not even that she was female. From the back, she looked much like any other Buddhist monk in odd clothing in the middle of a youkai-infested forest without any supplies or traveling gear or even a companion. She was meditating, and the stillness was so absolute it took them a while to even recognize the fact that she was hovering off the ground - not enough to pull her garments out of contact with the ground, but hovering nonetheless.  
  
Then a youkai had attacked out of nowhere, and while everyone was scrambling to react and get the monk away and to safety, she had touched the ground, there had been an earthquake, and the youkai had abruptly disappeared.  
  
Then she had come out of her trance, stood, and turned to them with those dark, clear eyes - and they had known, despite her almost complete lack of a figure and completely shaven head, that she was. well, someone important. And there had been no mistaking her for anything other than herself. Which included her reluctant femininity.  
  
Miroku had been the first to bow, although he did not ask her to bear his child, or even make a suggestion as to such. She had returned the bow gravely, and after walking around their group for about fifteen minutes with half-lidded eyes (while Inuyasha snarled impotently and Kagome tried to restrain him) she spoke.  
  
"The wheel of dharma has been turned again," she said, and the earth rumbled with her. Then the glazed look in her eyes cleared and she bowed to them again. "Is there some way this unworthy one may aid you?"  
  
"You shouldn't be all alone out here," Kagome said, worried.  
  
She smiled, a little. "Do not worry yourself about this one," she said. "What will come will come."  
  
Miroku stepped forward and bowed again, and she returned it again, despite Inuyasha's growls. "Might I know your name, holy one?" he asked.  
  
"This one is currently known as Miru."  
  
"Keh," Inuyasha said. "What the fuck were you doing all the way out here?"  
  
"This one was meditating. It seems obvious enough."  
  
He growled.  
  
She looked at him again, and seemed faintly surprised. Then she took in the others in more detail, the surprise remaining there, though faint, but added to a bit of disappointment and pity. Finally, she looked back at Miroku. "This one is traveling to the next village to recite the Lotus Sutra for the inhabitants. Would you like to come?"  
  
"I would, holy one, if my companions would allow."  
  
"They walk the path of eternal life," she said. "All are welcome, however, and the company of a fellow would be greatly appreciated."  
  
They met many gods that night.  
  
~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~  
  
AN: In reading all these wonderful stories, I noticed that Miroku's Buddhist nature is usually either completely untouched or somewhat misunderstood.  
  
A low-level monk such as he is by no means Enlightened, although he may believe in the three marks of existence: impermanence, suffering (or discontentedness), and no-self (no eternal, unchanging soul), or the four noble truths: that suffering exists, that suffering exists because of the existence of craving, that the cessation of craving (and thus of suffering) is nirvana, and that the path to the cessation of craving is the eight-fold path (summarized as morality, meditation, and wisdom). That is standard Buddhist belief, and grants him nothing because even the laity believes in such. Only a Buddha or an arhat (like a Buddha but with different responsibilities) are Enlightened.  
  
A low-level monk such as he, also, has no special powers through his religion. Those are attained through intense meditation and have more to do with the ability to levitate a few inches off the ground and the ability to remember past lives than anything that could defeat Naraku or any other of the youkai.  
  
I also was interested in - and will explore - just what youkai are to the Buddhist mind. The best bet I can find are asura - elemental beings of great power who tend towards the evil side and fight against the gods.  
  
So, voila! Miru is both very high-level and very Buddhist. She is not the center of the story, but she plays an important part. 


	2. The Heart of Perfect Wisdom

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, nor do I own this particular translation of the Heart Sutra - I believe that honor belongs to one Edward Conze. The Buddhist ideas expressed here are not mine.  
  
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Buddha and Kami  
  
Chapter 1 - The Heart of Perfect Wisdom  
  
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It had started when Shippo asked for a bedtime story. They were in a village, and Miru's presence had secured them shelter without need to rely on Miroku's seedier nature.  
  
Kagome opened her mouth to start telling one of her childhood stories as best she could remember when Miru returned from cleansing herself. She sank into meditation, and Shippo and Inuyasha scampered away. In a completely different way, this woman was as scary as Kagome's glares.  
  
"Ack." Inuyasha said.  
  
"Just in proximity to her, I can feel my bad karma being burned away," Miroku said, basking in the feeling.  
  
Eventually, though, she ceased, and Shippo demanded a bedtime story again.  
  
Miru smiled at him, since Kagome seemed deep in thought. "This one does not know any fanciful stories, but there are many histories to recount," she said. "Wouldst thou wish for one?"  
  
"Sure," Shippo said. "So long as there's no blood in it, it'll be fine."  
  
"Alright," Miru smiled again. Then she looked off into the distance, and began to quote. "Thus have I heard at one time. The Lord dwelled at Rajagrha, on the Vulture Peak, together with a large gathering of both monks and Boddhisattvas. At that time, the Lord, after he had taught the discourse on dharma called 'deep splendor,' had entered into concentration."  
  
Shippo wondered a bit at just what she was saying, but since her voice was soft and calming, he supposed it didn't really matter. He snuggled into Kagome.  
  
"At that time also the holy Lord Avalokita, the Bodhisattva, the great being, coursed in the course of the deep perfection of wisdom, he looked down from on high, and he saw the five skandhas, and he surveyed them as empty in their own-being."  
  
The people of the village, who had started to gather almost immediately after Miru had started, murmured suddenly and pulled apart, giving space to a faintly glowing being who materialized near the front of the crowd. He sat immediately, respectful, and bowed to Miru.  
  
She bowed in turn, both to him, and to the water goddess the Inuyasha-tachi had helped before as she, too, appeared and sat.  
  
"Thereupon the Venerable Sariputra, through the Buddha's might, said to the holy Lord Avalokita, the Bodhisattva, the great being: 'How should a son or daughter of good family train themselves if they want to course in the course of this deep perfection of wisdom?'  
  
"The holy Lord Avalokita, the Bodhisattva, the great being, then said to the Venerable Sariputra..."  
  
-  
  
"... Thereupon the Lord emerged from that concentration, and he applauded the holy lord Avalokita, the Bodhisattva, the great being: 'Well said, well said, son of good family! Just so, son of good family, just so should one course in the course of the deep perfection of wisdom. As you have explained it, so it is approved by all the Tathagatas.'  
  
"Thus spoke the Lord. Enraptured the venerable Sariputra, the holy Lord Avalokita, the Bodhisattva, the great being, and those monks and those Bodhisattvas, great beings, and the whole world with its gods, men, asuras, garudas, and gandharvas rejoiced in the Lord's teaching."  
  
Shippo was asleep, Miroku was in something like a trance, Kagome was mildly bored, Inuyasha was tense, and Sango was as properly respectful as any of the villagers.  
  
There were many of the faintly glowing beings now, not all of them very human in appearance, crowded close to Miru as if they could soak up the good karma generated in reciting the Heart Sutra. Slowly, they drew back, bowed, and started to disappear. Among the first, however, was the water goddess, and she paused.  
  
"I know you," she told Kagome.  
  
"Huh? Oh. Uh, yes, your holiness."  
  
"Oh, so?" Another one of them said, re-solidifying. "Are these those that aided you in recovering your domain, then?"  
  
"Yes. My thanks again for your help."  
  
"Oh, no," Miroku said smoothly. "You honor us with your presence."  
  
The goddess smiled. "You honor us with your companion's presence. Who are you, honored one?"  
  
"In this life, this one is known as Miru." She bowed, politely.  
  
Emboldened, others drew nearer.  
  
~~~-~~~-~~~-~~~  
  
In Japan, the type of Buddhism practiced is, in general, Mahayana. That doesn't say much, however, since 'Mahayana' is such a general term that the only place it isn't practiced (but another type of Buddhism is) is Sri Lanka. The names used throughout will not be the Japanese ones, but the Sanskrit ones, because (1) I can't be bothered to try and find all the Japanese versions (if they exist) and (2) since Miru now remembers her previous lives, she probably feels more comfortable in calling things by their Sanskrit (or maybe even Pali) names. Probably not Pali, though, unless it makes it easier for me to type something. Nyeah.  
  
I will not be revealing the names of any of the gods, nor of who Miru was before she became what she is now. That would be playing with a bit too much license. Besides, I like being mysterious.  
  
November 18th is 'Have a Nice Day' day, but since I'm not certain I'll be on before then... Have a Nice Day in advance. 


End file.
